VCSELs for High-Speed Data Networks

Applications of 850 nm VCSELs have bloomed in recent years arising from their low cost, and the ease of forming one-and two-dimensional arrays. In addition to the traditional measures of device lifetime, operation over a wide temperature range and link length, the figures of merit increasingly include power consumption (pJ/bit), footprint (bits/mm(2)) and cost ($/Gb/s). As 1 x 12 arrays of 10G VCSELs are widely adopted, there is a clear need for improvement along all these fronts. This is achieved through development of VCSELs operating at higher data rates, and modifications to the oxide VCSEL structure. In this paper, we discuss the development of VCSELs with electrostatic discharge protection, and high bandwidth for operation at 10 - 25 Gb/s.